A new drug is being developed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital that could slow or even halt the development of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.
The Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at BWH announced that it would be conducting the third phase of prevention trials using the new drug, solanezumab, that could prevent the rapidly deteriorating mental state of Alzheimer’s dementia.
Dean Hartley, director of science initiatives at the Alzheimer’s Association said the trial is for research on Alzheimer’s disease.
“The excitement in that is that we have not had any treatment that has been effective for the disease,” Hartley said. “Most of the treatments that are approved right now are basically for symptoms and people still in progress. This is the first time that it was changing the course of the disease and more importantly it was showing that this particular type of drug was working very effectively on the early part of the disease.”
The research will target individuals without diagnosed Alzheimer’s.
“This is the first time investigators will test an amyloid-clearing drug in older individuals thought to be in the pre-symptomatic stage of Alzheimer’s disease,” according to a release from BWH from Jan. 18.
The trial — which will last three years — examines the progress of Alzheimer’s disease in 1,000 patients from the ages of 70 to 85, and is partially funded by the National Institutes of Health, according to the release.
“We hope that starting treatment much earlier in the disease, before symptoms are present, as well as treating for a longer period of time, will slow cognitive decline and ultimately prevent Alzheimer’s disease dementia,” said Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of CART at BWH, in the release.
The National Institutes of Health is researching to understand more about Alzheimer’s disease to detect the disease early in its progression, according to the Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center progress report.
“Researchers are looking for reliable ways to find the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s-related brain changes so that treatment and, ultimately, prevention can be targeted before clinical symptoms emerge,” stated the report.
About 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, or about one-in-eight older Americans. Additionally, Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and the only cause in the top 10 that cannot be prevented or cured, according to the Alzheimer’s Association facts and figures.
Hartley said this new phase of trials is promising because it is targeting patients before they start developing symptoms.
“The thinking has gone to the idea that where this drug targets may actually be 20 to 25 years before the clinical onset of the disease,” he said. “So the thinking has changed in that ‘maybe this particular treatment is taken too late,’ which is why we’ve only seen moderate results.”
Rachel Turner, a College of Arts and Sciences freshman, said she has a relative who has Alzheimer’s disease.
“My aunt developed Alzheimer’s a few years ago,” Turner said. “I really hope it [the drug] works, honestly. I almost feel a little skeptical, like it’s too good to be true, but if the trials work out then it will change the lives of a lot of families.”
Turner said Alzheimer’s has brought difficulty to her family and she hopes the drug might help other families.
“It has been incredibly hard to watch, and now to not have her recognize me when I went home for winter break. It’s an incredibly helpless feeling,” she said. “Although it’s too late for our family since this doesn’t reverse the effects, I sincerely hope that no other families are subjected to losing a loved one in such a cruel manner.”
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